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Insects
Special Issues
Recent Studies on Resource Insects
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Recent Studies on Resource Insects

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 February 2026 | Viewed by 1705

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yue Hao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
Interests: honeybee; omics; honeybee product; beekeeping; honeybee health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Weili Cai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Protection, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Science, Chengdu 100093, China
Interests: crop diseases and pests; plant pathology; molecular biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Insects, as a renewable natural resource, hold significant potential for diverse applications across various industries. In recent years, they have become a key focus of scientific research and industrial development. Insect products and bodies serve as valuable industrial raw materials and biomaterials, with a wide range of uses. Rich in proteins and amino acids, they are not only suitable for human consumption but also offer high nutritional value as animal feed. In the agricultural and forestry sectors, beneficial insects play a crucial role in sustainable pest control, contributing to ecological pest management and supporting environmental protection efforts. Moreover, the study of insect structures and functions has driven advancements in biomimicry, leading to the development of innovative high-tech products with applications in medicine, military, and materials science.

This Special Issue seeks to gather the most recent advances in resource insect research. We invite experts and researchers to submit their work and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on how insects can be leveraged for a wide range of scientific and industrial purposes.

Prof. Dr. Yue Hao
Prof. Dr. Weili Cai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • resource insects
  • beneficial insects
  • insect products
  • biomimicry
  • bioengineering

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4080 KiB  
Article
Knocked-Out Bombyx mori Protein Disulfide Isomerase Decreases Silk Yields and Mechanical Properties by Affecting the Post-Translational Modification of Silk Proteins
by Shifeng Yang, Mengyao He, Xian Li, Huan Dong, Hexu Lei, Fangyu Wang, Hanxin Deng, Hongji Zhou, Siyu Chen, Yujuan Zhou, Zihan Meng, Ding Tu, He Wang, Qingyou Xia and Feng Wang
Insects 2025, 16(7), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16070684 - 30 Jun 2025
Viewed by 392
Abstract
Silkworms synthesize and secrete silk to produce cocoons, which are excellent materials for textile and biomaterial manufacturing applications. However, the gene regulation associated with the post-translational modification of silk proteins remains unknown. In this study, we analyzed the physicochemical properties, evolutionary relationships, and [...] Read more.
Silkworms synthesize and secrete silk to produce cocoons, which are excellent materials for textile and biomaterial manufacturing applications. However, the gene regulation associated with the post-translational modification of silk proteins remains unknown. In this study, we analyzed the physicochemical properties, evolutionary relationships, and expression patterns of BmPDI in silkworms. Subsequently, we knocked out BmPDI (BmPDI-KO), resulting in significant phenotypes of BmPDI-KO silkworms with smaller silk glands and cocoons, weaker silk mechanical properties, and reduced disulfide bonds in silk-associated proteins. Transcription levels of silk protein-related genes and unfolded protein response signal pathway-related genes were significantly downregulated. In contrast, genes involved in the apoptosis pathway were significantly upregulated in BmPDI-KO silkworms. Knocking out BmPDI in silkworms affected the post-translational modifications of the silk proteins, thereby accumulating misfolded silk proteins and hindering their secretion into the extracellular cells. This further increased endoplasmic reticulum stress, activated the apoptotic pathway, accelerated silk gland cell apoptosis, and significantly reduced the silk yields and mechanical properties of BmPDI-KO silkworm. This study provides a potential exploration of BmPDI in the modification of silk yields and mechanical properties of Bombyx mori. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Studies on Resource Insects)
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18 pages, 3351 KiB  
Article
Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical Applications
by Wenjing Geng, Liang Lu, Tangmin Li, Mingyi Zhou, Wei Chen, Hao Tan, Debin Zhong, Guanwang Shen, Ping Lin, Qingyou Xia, Ping Zhao and Zhiqing Li
Insects 2025, 16(7), 676; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16070676 - 27 Jun 2025
Viewed by 376
Abstract
Neurotrophic factor 3 (NT-3), a potent neurotrophin, promotes neuronal survival and axonal regeneration while demonstrating a unique capacity to induce lineage-specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into functional neurons, underscoring its therapeutic potential in neural repair. Despite these advantages, the large-scale production of [...] Read more.
Neurotrophic factor 3 (NT-3), a potent neurotrophin, promotes neuronal survival and axonal regeneration while demonstrating a unique capacity to induce lineage-specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into functional neurons, underscoring its therapeutic potential in neural repair. Despite these advantages, the large-scale production of recombinant human NT-3 with preserved structure integrity and functional bioactivity remains a critical challenge. This study takes advantage of the silk gland bioreactor of silkworms for the recombinant expression of human NT-3 protein on a large scale. Our findings reveal that NT-3 was successfully expressed in the middle silk gland of silkworms and secreted into the silk fibers, achieving a yield of up to 0.5 mg of bioactive NT-3 per gram of cocoon weight. The engineered NT-3-functionalized silk material demonstrates no cytotoxicity and significantly enhanced the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural cells compared to natural silk protein. Importantly, this functionalized material also promotes neurite outgrowth in HT-22 cells. These results collectively underscore the high bioactivity of the recombinant human NT-3 protein produced in the silkworm silk gland. The ongoing fabrication of NT-3-incorporated silk-based materials holds considerable promise for advancing tissue engineering and nerve regeneration applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Studies on Resource Insects)
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21 pages, 2184 KiB  
Article
Dissecting the Molecular Mechanism of 10-HDA Biosynthesis: Role of Acyl-CoA Delta(11) Desaturase and Transcriptional Regulators in Honeybee Mandibular Glands
by Yunchang Li, Xiaojing Zhang, Zhenyu Xia and Yue Hao
Insects 2025, 16(6), 563; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16060563 - 26 May 2025
Viewed by 697
Abstract
10-Hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), a major fatty acid (FA) component of royal jelly, is synthesized in the mandibular glands (MGs) of worker honeybees. Despite its well-documented nutritional and therapeutic significance, the biosynthetic pathway and regulatory mechanisms of 10-HDA production remain largely unresolved. In this [...] Read more.
10-Hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), a major fatty acid (FA) component of royal jelly, is synthesized in the mandibular glands (MGs) of worker honeybees. Despite its well-documented nutritional and therapeutic significance, the biosynthetic pathway and regulatory mechanisms of 10-HDA production remain largely unresolved. In this study, the molecular basis of 10-HDA biosynthesis and regulation in the MGs of newly emerged bees (NEBs), nurse bees (NBs), and forager bees (FBs) were investigated using RNA sequencing and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). A five-step biosynthetic pathway for 10-HDA was proposed, and cross-species analysis of Apis mellifera and A. cerana revealed the conserved expression patterns of 15 key enzymes involved. Functional validation via RNA interference (RNAi) demonstrated that knockdown of acyl-CoA Delta(11) desaturase (d11ds, LOC551527), a key enzyme in FA desaturation, led to a 50% reduction in 10-HDA levels. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis further identified transcriptional regulators Kay and Drep-2 as potential modulators of 10-HDA metabolism. This study provides the first comprehensive mechanistic model of 10-HDA biosynthesis in honeybee MGs and highlights the labor-specific regulation of FA metabolism. These findings offer promising genetic targets for improving the royal jelly quality through genetic technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Studies on Resource Insects)
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